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Topic: Nova drill press (Read 3248 times)

Can somebody who has one of these tell me how tall it is. I have searched but can't find it's height I'm going to buy one and have a upper cabinet I need it fit under Thanks.

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Thanks a lot. It really came down to the Nova or Powermatic. The Powermatic gets mixed reviews at almost the same price but the only negatives I heard of on the Nova was it's very low audible beep and not being able to take small diameter bits. Neither is of much concern to me plus the Nova has a lot of added features over other offerings in the same price range.

I have been debating over the Nova or the PM2800b also. Both are available at my local Woodcraft and are on display. The Nova is shorter than the PM. The table is not as nice for woodworking as the PM table, no so easy to replace insert is a concern for me. Yes it can be replaced but PM has a square piece of Masonite or MDF that you can make a couple dozen from scarps, the Nova is round and a little more work to make or you have to buy them. Might seem minor but still. The PM comes with a fence the Nova does not.

There are some reviews on the Teknatool site worth reading. Every one of them complained about the low volume of the warning beep and that the chuck will not tighten up on anything smaller than a 3mm bit. I think I'm going to give it some more time and see if the competition comes up with anything to challenge Teknatool. So far no one has brought out a lathe like the DVR-XP. I've had mine for about 6 years now and love it.

A woodworking store near where I live (2 mile) has the Nova drill on display.

Its a nice drill if you do a lot of repetition work.

That's so true!

I've been using the Nova DP to drill hundreds of holes in aluminum and tapping many of them.

The features I use the most are the function keys that instantly change speeds and the digital depth stop.

While the Nova DP is supposed to have a tapping function (one of the main reasons I bought the machine) in my experience it only works correctly about 10 percent of the time. But when it does it's kind of a miracle it's so cool.

The basic features of the Nova DP can be used as a work around for the flakey tapping feature. I simply set the digital depth stop and at slow speed the tap stops instantly when the quill has traveled the specified distance. I have set one of the function keys to be a forward/reverse switch and when I touch that key the tap backs out.

I did upgrade the machine with a keyless chuck and a cross slide milling table. The chuck allows use of a wrench to tighten taps enough to withstand reverse motion. It holds smaller bits than the standard chuck. I also swapped the long table elevation crank for a wheel. It makes changing the table height swifter and smoother.

With the above very productive setup I was able top complete the project myself. With any other DP I would have had to sub-contract much of the work which would have cost more than the Nova DP cost.

If the link doesn't work it is 6" in diameter with a 1/2" un-threaded hole. The hub had to be drilled larger to fit the stub. The stub is poorly formed and not an exact size. I used a fractional bit (can't recall size) to make a tight fitting hole. I didn't secure the wheel well enough when drilling and the hole became ragged but that maybe improved the fit. With the help of a hammer the soft zinc was moved out of the high spots resulting in a very good fit.

Here's another keyless chuck option...Albrecht. They come in a number of sizes and mounting configurations. Some have diamond coated jaws to bite into hardened tooling/shafts.

No matter what make the chuck is, you'll also need a pair of wedges to remove the chuck. There's a minimum drill size for all keyless chucks, usually around 1/16" diameter. So if you're using a drill smaller than that, you'll have to remove the keyless and replace it with the keyed chuck.

The removal wedges are purchased for whatever Jacob's taper is needed. The 2nd picture below shows #3 wedges above the Albrecht keyless, while #2 wedges are lying on the drill press table.

JK, it hasn't seen use in a number of years and was just trying to justify its existence in my tool chest along with my other outdated or obsolete automotive tools. Ya know, stuff like the special Ford upper controlarm adjusters for doing front end alignments, only needed for early 70s Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns or a fan belt tension gauge.

I bought the nova on a whim and while it is a very nice drill press, I think the depth stop feature is oversold. First let me say, I love how quiet it is. And the power is nice. I use the speed setting frequently now. I never did like to change the belt on my old DP. Mind you it is not a metal working drill press, but it has enough power for what I do (professional woodworking). Also, it has virtually no run out. That part is impressive. Now for the depth stop. I can't even hear the beep. But honestly, since the press stops itself, the beep may be redundant. However, the press stopping itself is really annoying. I haven't figured out how to start it back up in reverse so generally the bit is stuck in the work piece unless I clamp it down, which of course kills the productivity of the feature. I don't know, perhaps it is nice, I guess I don't see the difference between that and the old manual depth stop. I would buy it again, if for no other reason that the sound level, the zero clearance to a wall, and the direct drive. I always prefer direct drive on anything.

Now for the depth stop. I can't even hear the beep. But honestly, since the press stops itself, the beep may be redundant. However, the press stopping itself is really annoying. I haven't figured out how to start it back up in reverse so generally the bit is stuck in the work piece unless I clamp it down, which of course kills the productivity of the feature.

These 2 items are directly from the manual, maybe they'll help out unless you've already tried to work with them.

 Sounds/Warnings – This toggles various sound settings. Set Depth Reached – List of actions for the user to select from on what to do once the set depth has been reached.

If these don't help, I'd suggest you contact Teknatool directly. As this drill has a tapping feature that allows it to reverse just like a Tap-Matic would, there must be some way of enabling the reversing feature to work with the depth sensing feature.

When I emailed Nova about the audio level they said they were looking into increasing the volume level but no promises or any estimate of when or if it would happen.

I have mixed feelings about the motor stopping once the set depth is reached. As you noted this could leave the bit jammed in the workpiece and could lead to damage to the work withdrawing the bit. At the least it may be a hit on productivity.

Now if you could program the depth and the DP automatically advanced until the set depth was reached then withdrew the spinning bit you'd really have something. But that would probably be another $500 on the retail price.

I remember working in a pipe fab shop in the late 70s we had a big DP whichyou could set it to advance the bit and stop by itself. You had to set the depth stop manually and as the quill advanced it would contact the stop lever whichcaused the quill to raise up and the drill motor would stop once it was fully retracted. I don't remember who made it but it sure beat pulling on the handleall day drilling 7/8 anchor bolt holes in 1" plate for pipe supports. The Buffalo punch was more fun for banging out a big batch of holes.

Now if you could program the depth and the DP automatically advanced until the set depth was reached then withdrew the spinning bit you'd really have something. But that would probably be another $500 on the retail price.

That's the reason I suggested that the OP contact Nova. This drill press operates 80-90% of the time on the response from software.

It understands reaching and acknowledging proper drill depth, it also understands automatically reversing the spindle when a limit has been identified. Consequently it's relatively easy to connect the 2 functions to produce the desired result. They'd be fools to charge $500 for this simple functionality.

Instead of watching the drill spin into the work watch the depth display and just stop advancing when you get to your depth. You do have to properly "zero" the right part of the bit to the work before you start.

Instead of watching the drill spin into the work watch the depth display and just stop advancing when you get to your depth. You do have to properly "zero" the right part of the bit to the work before you start.

That's how I do it now. I wouldn't like the bit to stop turning at the bottom of the hole.